A collaborative workspace (henceforth “workspace”) refers to functionality that allows individuals to work on a shared task in a coordinated fashion. A typical workspace defines permissions which identify a collection of members who are permitted to interact with the workspace. The permissions also define the manner in which the respective members are permitted to interact with the workspace. The workspace also commonly defines a collection of items (e.g., document items, data items, etc.) associated with the workspace. In operation, authorized members may engage the workspace (in a manner defined by the permissions) to work on the shared items in a coordinated fashion.
In one approach, a user may create permissions by accessing a separate administrative user interface presentation outside the context of the collaborative workspace. The separate administrative user interface presentation may present a flat list of individuals. The user can scan this list and pick out, one user at a time, individuals who shall be granted access to a workspace (thus becoming members of the workspace). The user may also assign permissions to the selected individuals using this administrative user interface presentation.
The above approach has potential shortcomings. For instance, the user may find it a burdensome and disruptive task to access and interact with the separate administrative user interface presentation. For instance, the user may find it difficult to scan a long list of individuals. Further, since the list is flat, the user may find it difficult to quickly discern the permissions assigned to various individuals in the list. Further still, the user may find that the list does not encompass the complete universe of individuals with which the user may wish to interact. To remedy this issue, the user may decide to access yet other types of systems (having their own unique user interface presentations and protocols for managing individuals). These additional operations may increase the complexity of creating and managing permissions. The above-described approach may have yet further shortcomings.
The above potential drawbacks may discourage a user from defining robust permissions for a workspace. For instance, the user may decide to assign permissions to members in a relatively broad-brush and general fashion. This tactic, however, may compromise the security of the resultant workspace.